BOTM, 10/08: Old Taylor 6yo

Better late than never with this months BOTM.....

Old Taylor is a lighter style of bourbon, and a relatively inexpensive one....which makes it a good choice considering the current economic times.
I was lucky enough to receive a 200ml bottle of the National Distillers expression when I was in New York (thanks Cliff!) and was very impressed, but have yet to try the current Beam expression.
Let us know what you think of either expression and if you've done a side by side, how do the two compare?

Re: BOTM, 10/08: Old Taylor 6yo

The National Distillers bottlings of the 1980's have a characteristic butterscotch/maple flavor which is most inviting. The 86 proof of the era is the best example, but the 80 proof was good too.

I have had earlier examples, e.g., a BIB which Mike from NYC brought to the last Gazebo, which were similar to the 80's ones but did not have quite the richness: probably they were younger. Michael Jackson wrote in 1987 that contemporary Old Taylor 6 years old was more like 10-11 years old.

Today's Old Taylor seems rather a different article and not, I'm afraid, what it was.

Re: BOTM, 10/08: Old Taylor 6yo

Too little too late... I had an 80's and a 60's side-by-side on Tuesday night! Perhaps I will revisit this weekend and write up some notes for this thread. (Have to confess I've never had the Beam version -- nor even seen it around these parts!)

Kevin

"Clears up her head with bourbon/Cause beer is so suburban/And declasse for what it's worth"

Re: BOTM, 10/08: Old Taylor 6yo

Found this while doing a Google search on Old Taylor Bourbon. Thought you guys might get a chuckle out of it. Seems like a lot of set and wardrobe for something that could have been done on a webcam to similar effect!

Re: BOTM, 10/08: Old Taylor 6yo

Today's Old Taylor is suited in my opinion to cocktails and bourbon and Coke. I do occasionally buy it to see whether the palate changes over the years but it seems largely the same since Beam bought the label. (There are intermediate bottlings, the so-called transition ones, which may have combined some Clermont-distilled bourbon and some Frankfort-distilled, these use the older label and usually are pretty good).

At Char No. 4 recently in Brooklyn I had its house bloody mary which used Old Taylor and it worked well in that combination, the chipotle pepper added seemed to match the whiskey taste which was quite evident through the tomato base.

Still, now that Beam has released its new rye whiskey, one might hope that the palate of the old Old Taylor will be re-introduced, prefereably in a BIB. But how do you re-introduce the old butterscotchy taste? This would depend on how that was obtained at Frankfort. I believe it is a type of congener (or group of them) that was responsible, or the yeast that produced them, because when I nose the NDs sometimes I get a slight fusel note. This is more noticeable in the 1970's black label 90 proof version that some on the board have tasted, probably the latter was not aged as long as the ones Michael Jackson was referring to in 1987:

"The Taylor whiskey [he means the Bourbon] is light, soft, with some sweetness, and is marketed as a premium brand. It is a well-matured whiskey, as old as 10-12 years, though with lesser age statements".

Re: BOTM, 10/08: Old Taylor 6yo

I just opened my 500ml of Old Taylor Bonded Distilled in Spring 1976 Bottled Spring 1982.

This Whiskey has a buttery quality on the palate with a hint of a burn at 100 proof I would expect that. The butterscotch is all there from entry to mid palate to finish. I do get a little citrus or zest on the front as well but it then gets over powered by the Butterscotch one again. The finish is medium and becomes quite faint after a minute yet the tingle on the tongue and numbness on the roof of the mouth hangs for a little longer.

I too enjoy this expression and have not had the current. I have a 500ml of some 86 proof as well and it too is great.

Tony

"So long as the presence of death lurks with anyone who goes through the simple act of swallowing, I will make mine whiskey"

Re: BOTM, 10/08: Old Taylor 6yo

Originally Posted by ACDetroit

I just opened my 500ml of Old Taylor Bonded Distilled in Spring 1976 Bottled Spring 1982.

This Whiskey has a buttery quality...butterscotch is all there

Tony,
I've never had a post Stone Castle (ceased distillation in 1972) Taylor bond, at least that was definitively marked. I've heard two different stories about where Taylor was distilled in its twilight years - either Crow or Grand Dad.

I've had many pre-'72 bonds (which had butterscotch, but not dominantly)and '80s 86ers (which were mostly butterscotch monsters), and always wondered whether a bonded would have the same heavy butterscotch as the '80s 86ers.

It sounds like it does.

By the way, does the label specify distilled at DSP KY 19? If not, does it state 14 or 25 (Grand Dad or Crow)? I expect the bottling would have been at the then-newly renovated line at Grand Dad.

Another thing I note is that I have seen a wide spread of when '72 distillations were bottled, as if the barrels were languishing unbottled in the rickhouses for a long time after they were meant to be cycled out. Off the top of my head, I think I've seen '72 distillations bottled anywhere from '77 to '82. It seems your bottle was released concurrently with the last of the '72, yet was a full 4 years younger, and from a different distillery.